Awhile back I promised to publish an excerpt from Guns And Dogs, my upcoming Young Adult novel that will be published worldwide on June 21st.

So here it is. The first chapter. Hope everyone enjoys.

Chapter 1

Tucson, Arizona

Present Day

Bloodboy hated high school.
It wasn’t the acrimonious stares he endured in the hallways, nor the shoves in the back he received when he was trying to open his locker in the hallway, although those were definitely part of the problem. No. It was much more than that. It was the uphill battle he faced just to be accepted. He didn’t give a flying fart if his teachers liked him or not, they could all go to hell as far as he was concerned. It was the other kids who hated him. Just cause he was different.
His only friend was Frank Dooley, whom Bloodboy called by his hacker name “Diablo.” Diablo, like Bloodboy, dressed in black. They called themselves the “Black Brothers,” even though they weren’t related. But most of the kids, the jocks especially, called them the “Butt Brothers.” Bloodboy wished there weren’t so many of them, then, maybe, he could sucker punch one of them and exact his revenge, especially for the locker room beat-downs he’d endured after gym class.
Was it fair? Course not. His parents had drilled that into him since he could remember. But he and Diablo would get even. Yes. They would both show these high school pricks what pain was all about.
Diablo’s father kept a gun up in the attic, an old M1903 Sniper Rifle that his great-uncle had used during World War II. But it was just one gun. Between the two of them, there was only so much damage one gun could inflict.
One day, after school in a secluded corner of McDonalds, using various code words to mask their proposed transgression, they had discussed their plan to get even with their schoolmates. It was then that a strange man calling himself Grendis had approached them. Bloodboy whispered into Diablo’s ear, warning his friend to be on guard, that the newcomer could be a plainclothes cop who had overheard their conversation and was trying to entrap them. Despite their precautionary measures of speaking, it was possible they had been discovered. They ignored him at first but he stood there. Both boys told him to get lost but Grendis remained. He then placed a small briefcase on top of their table and told them to open it outside the restaurant. Grendis also placed a business card on the table, and told them to call him in case they needed anything else. At first, both boys scoffed at Grendis’ offer, but the man just stood there and smiled at them both. Grendis’ eyes looked confident but there was still something odd about him that he just couldn’t put his finger on. Diablo knew Blood would need more convincing, but he decided to take a chance.
It seemed too good to be true. But after Grendis had left they’d inspected the contents of the briefcase in Diablo’s car and found two TEC-9s and four hand grenades. Along with a tablet filled with notes and diagrams explaining how to inflict maximum damage in public places.
“You still think he’s a cop, Blood?” Diablo asked.
Bloodboy stared at the instruments of destruction Grendis had gifted them. He thought hard and pushed away his doubt before smirking. “No, But I do think he could help fix all our problems.”